Digging Deeper: Where Does the Public Stand on Standards-Based Education? Issues Brief.

Goodwin, Bryan

This issues brief discusses the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Specifically, it reports on the results of focus groups that explored where people stand on standards-based education and whether they are likely to support or abandon struggling schools. The focus groups consisted of more than 60 participants who represented a broad cross-section of the Kansas City, Missouri, community, including students, parents of public- and private-school children, taxpayers who were not parents, educators, business owners, and policymakers. This brief reports on key themes that surfaced during the focus-group sessions. Initially, people expressed opinions on standards that were in line with public-opinion polls that have revealed support for standards, assessments, and accountability. But as the focus-group participants further discussed the issues, four themes emerged: (1) Standards are meaningless without tests, but accountability should be based on more than just test scores; (2) true accountability makes schools more responsive to parents and communities, not to outside officials; (3) parents and students are a crucial yet often missing part of most accountability systems; and (4) the biggest problems with public schools have little to do with standards or academics. (WFA)